CURRENT TRENDS IN MALAYSIAN SOCIETY - By Dr. Chandra Muzaffar

Current trends in Malaysian society do not generate much optimism about the future. Gleaned from the electoral landscape, there are two trends one should focus upon: one, associated with the ruling Barisan Nasional, specifically UMNO, the coalition’s pillar and the nation’s biggest and most influential political party; the other, linked to the Pakatan, mainly the DAP, the largest political party in the opposition.

We shall evaluate briefly these two actors in relation to five critical aspects of national life --- integrity; economic realities; political structure; religion; and ethnic relations.

Integrity

While the UMNO led government has initiated some institutional measures to enhance integrity such as anti-corruption courts and integrity pacts, it has given very little attention to the variety of proposals made by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Institute Integrity Malaysia (IIM) in the last few years to combat elite corruption. This is largely because of powerful vested interests which have become deeply entrenched. The government’s approach to the 1MDB controversy testifies to this.

The opposition appears to be more determined to curb graft. The DAP state government in Penang under Lim Guan Eng requires its Executive Councillors and Assembly members to declare their assets (though not their liabilities) to the public. After seven years in power, there is no whiff of any financial scandal. The PKR-led Selangor state government sought to minimize political interference in governmental decisions pertaining to contracts and projects under its former Mentri Besar, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim. Kelantan, which has been under PAS stewardship for 25 years now is not tainted with corruption largely because of the moral rectitude of the late Dato Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who was Mentri Besar for 23 years.

Economic Realities

The UMNO-BN leadership recognizes that the bottom 40% of urban Malaysia is struggling to make ends meet. It has offered some remedies in the form of assistance programmes but they are largely palliative and do not address the root causes of relative deprivation. It is not just a question of raising incomes or upgrading skills. The ownership and control of key resources that the bottom 40% depend upon --- land, water, energy --- will have to be re-appraised. Likewise, the distribution of goods and services which impact upon the cost of living will have to be reviewed to ensure greater access and equity for the poorer half of society.

The opposition’s economic policies have also not examined larger structural challenges of this sort in a consistent manner. True, its alternative budget for 2016 promises to implement a capital gains tax and an inheritance tax which would be equitable. But it could have tried to explore how the role of the cooperative movement for instance could be reinforced in both the production and distribution of certain goods and services to strengthen the position of the working-class. The re-organization of agriculture, which the opposition’s budget highlights, could have also been linked to building dynamic rural cooperatives.

Political Structure

For all its warts and pimples, Malaysia is still a functioning democracy. In some respects, democratic space has widened in the last few years with the abolition of the Internal Security Act (ISA), changes to the University and the University Colleges Act (UCCA) and the introduction of a Peaceful Assembly Act --- all accomplished under Dato Sri Najib’s tutelage. The new media has also been a major contributory factor. Nonetheless, dissent, especially when it raises questions about the exercise of power at the apex, is often severely curbed. A true participatory democracy anchored in local, grassroots communities is nowhere on the horizon.

Through its commitment to local government elections, the DAP continues to uphold an important principle of grassroots democracy. But there is little evidence to show that it is seeking to change the top-down approach to democracy and governance --- which is part of the national ethos --- even in those areas within its jurisdiction in Penang.

Religion

Freedom of worship and celebration of religious diversity --- hallmarks of UMNO-BN rule for decades --- are very much part of the social reality. And yet there are worrying signs which have become more pronounced over time. As Islam became more prominent in the public arena from the late seventies onwards expressing itself through form rather than substance, many of its adherents also became more exclusive in their outlook especially in matters relating to interaction with non-Muslims. At the same time, because their understanding of faith has undergone a transformation of sorts propelled by the pressures of urbanization and external

influences, more and more Muslims in the middle and upper echelons of society have become advocates of an “Islamic State” that emphasizes prohibition and punishment. It has willy-nilly created an environment that erroneously views hudud as pivotal to Islam when it is God-Consciousness reflected in justice and compassion which defines the religion. Hudud has not only driven a wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia but has also generated a great deal of uneasiness among Sarawakians and Sabahans including Muslims.

Hudud has also split the opposition. It has split DAP from PAS and is one of the implicit reasons why a number of PAS leaders and activists have broken away from the party to form the Parti Amanah Negara (PAN). How the different opposition parties will deal with this issue in the coming months will determine to an extent the fate of the opposition. The hudud issue is in a sense interwoven with the bigger and more complex challenge of what the role of Islam is in Malaysian society. Neither the opposition nor the BN has the answer.

Ethnic Relations

UMNO and the BN have all along adopted a two pronged approach to ethnic relations. One, keep the Malays and the other communities in their own silos. Mobilize and organize along ethnic lines. View issues and individuals through ethnic lenses. Two, ensure that at the elite level in particular there is an appreciable degree of inter-ethnic cooperation and amity. So ethnic mobilization and inter-ethnic cooperation go hand and hand.

It is a formula that ensured the BN’s electoral success for quite a long while. It was partly responsible for guaranteeing inter-ethnic peace in the country. However, since the 2008 general election, the formula has ceased to be viable. Given the massive erosion of support from the BN among Chinese and Indian voters, it is not possible any more to bring those communities into an inter-ethnic relationship with the Malays and UMNO. And for a lot of urban Malays who perceive UMNO as a party that has gone astray and is no longer connected to them, the party is not on their radar screen. If a silo based, static approach to the maintenance of inter-ethnic peace does not command any meaning, is UMNO-BN capable of evolving an alternative?

Though opposition parties are formally less ethnic, their electoral appeal is still shaped by ethnic politics. What is worse, they are in no position to offer a formula for inter-ethnic cooperation given the huge ideological chasm that separates PAS from DAP. The DAP on its own will not be able to win substantial Malay support partly because it has little empathy for the history and identity of the land which is central to the Malay vision of the nation. Will the DAP’s partners --- PKR and PAN --- be able to fill that vacuum?

In the ultimate analysis, it is because UMNO-BN, on the one hand, and DAP- Pakatan, on the other, both lack inter-ethnic credentials vital for governing a multi-ethnic society like ours that the future does not inspire hope.

10 November 2015.

Have A Meaningful Deepavali - Friday in The STAR

‘Aachi’ Manorama (1937 – 2015) was a beloved cinematic icon who united people from all walks of life through her various roles.

Let us be Moderate: Be honest on both sides and avoid hypocrisy

In our Hari Malaysia message, we elaborated the fifth point of the Ten Principles for a Moderate Malaysian. For Deepavali, we would like to share the sixth principle. Do look forward to the upcoming four.

Principle Number Six.

I will be honest on both sides. I will not be a hypocrite.

1.       What does honest on both sides mean?

Being honest on both sides is about being just. When we are being honest on both sides, we do not take partisan, coloured and prejudiced positions. We see right as right and wrong as wrong, no matter who says or does it. We seek, tell, and mediate the truth. We do not judge others without checking ourselves first. That is being hypocritical. Being honest on both sides is the direct opposite of being a hypocrite.

2.       Who are hypocrites?

Hypocrites are liars of the worst kind. This is because a hypocrite is a person who pretends to have virtues, morals and principles that he or she does not actually possess or believe in. A hypocrite twist and turn everything to win. They like to judge others with the highest of standards, but when it’s time to judge themselves, they bend according to circumstances to the point that the standards are barely there. This assures that the other side is always wrong, and they, always right. Hypocrites create moments of disunity. They are extremists and a liability to society. Hypocrites cannot stand feedback or even constructive criticisms. In fact, a hypocrite will be angry simply by reading this advertisement.

3.       How to be honest on both sides and avoid being a hypocrite?

Be honest and sincere. Make seeking the truth, being just and the practice of moderation as your core belief system. Always consider both sides of the argument. Better still, be creative and look for alternative options. Be stricter with yourself before you are strict with others. Practice what you preach and make sure your actions are louder than your words. Be moderate as moderation will steer you towards being honest on both sides.

THE 2016 BUDGET AND COMBATING CORRUPTION - By Dr. Chandra Muzaffar

While there are some positive features in the 2016 Federal Budget, there is a glaring omission in it: there is hardly any mention of how the government intends to step up its battle against corruption or how it plans to reduce persistent leakages or enhance integrity in governance. And yet, integrity at all levels of society --- especially at the apex --- is the greatest challenge facing the nation today.

The Budget could have addressed this challenge from various perspectives. It could have proposed specific, concrete measures that government departments and state agencies would undertake in order to overcome problems arising from ministerial and departmental over-spending, above market-price purchases and delays in approvals --- all of which have often been highlighted by the Auditor-General in his comprehensive audit reports. The millions of ringgit lost year in and year out from acts of omission and commission of this sort could have been better utilized for the well-being of the people.

The lack of effective enforcement by state institutions has also cost us dearly. Instead of dealing with the culprits through punitive measures that serve as effective deterrents, the tendency is to choose a mild mode of punishment which has very little impact upon the wrongdoer. As a result, wrongdoings have become more and more serious over the decades. The human trafficking tragedy at the Malaysia-Thai border exposed earlier this year that resulted in the deaths of scores of Rohingyas is an example of what can happen when enforcement officers fail to carry out their duties mainly because they had compromised their integrity.

If such erring officers are not caught or punished severely, part of the reason may be because there is no institution that has the powers to conduct truly independent investigations into the misdeeds of enforcement personnel and enforcement agencies. There is an urgent need for such an independent institution which will have the full authority to act against enforcers whether they are from the police or immigration or some other agency. The present Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) does have the power to act effectively. This is why the Budget could have provided for the establishment of such an entity staffed with well trained personnel capable of adhering to the highest standards of integrity.

The Budget could have also perhaps allocated more resources for the enhancement of knowledge and skills among anti-corruption officials at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) which by and large has discharged its duties with distinction. Such upgrading is imperative in an environment in which acts of corruption have become more sophisticated and

transcend national boundaries. The 1MDB episode is a case in point. Money-laundering today for instance has become far more complex than what it was two or three decades ago.

To put it in a nutshell, the 2016 Budget does not indicate that the powers-that-be are serious or sincere about combating high-level corruption and strengthening the sinews of integrity in Malaysian society. It is perhaps a manifestation of the major cause of the spread of the scourge of corruption: the lack of political will among those who wield power and influence.

THE LEADER-MANAGER

A Leader- Manager can lead and manage himself, others and also at the same time lead and manage change.

He must have the capacity and ability to perform key tasks and responsibilities that are associated and expected both in the area of leadership and management with excellence. He develops clear goals and deliverables and help his team connect with it by making it meaningful.

He also exercises control holding people accountable and willing to have tough conversation and if needed take tough actions to manage performance.

In doing these, the Leader-Manager follows the following areas in his tasks and responsibilities.

A Leader-Manager must first be able to know how their responsibilities play a role in the company’s purpose and mission. A business organization is an economic organ and as such a Leader-Manager must act on all his decision, action and deliberation with economic performance as its core. A business organization can only justify its existence and authority only by economic results that it produces. A business organization is unsuccessful if it fails to produce economic results. It must supply goods and services desired by the customer at a price the customer is willing to pay while at the same time, ensuring profit. A Leader-Manager therefore must be clear that his tasks and responsibilities rest on the wealth producing capacity of the economic resources entrusted to him i.e economic performance as the number one mission.

A Leader-Manager can only achieve economic performance if his subordinates do productive work. The one true resource of business enterprise is their human capital. An organization can only perform if their human capital performs. A Leader-Manager therefore must be skilled in getting the best from his people.

He does so by making them happy and performing. To get them to be happy and performing, the Leader-Manager helps his subordinates achieve. Achievement is the drug and fuel for self-motivation. A Leader-Manager can achieve this if he sees and considers his subordinate as first a human being and not just a pawn or resource to move around as he pleases.  A Leader-Manager takes into account their dreams, aspirations, personality, capacity, skills, how much and how well they know their job, what it takes to motivate them to participate, why they do or not do things, etc.

A Leader-Manager duplicates success. He is quick to transfer knowledge from one person or one group to another. He makes it a point that his top talents share information be it in the area of Innovation, Marketing, Duplication or General Management. He provides and encourages an environment where best practices are noted, celebrated, shared and made into the organization’s culture. As such, the organization is constantly moving forward and upwards. Picking up best practices along the way and making ordinary people extraordinary. The Leader-Manager does not condone silo mentality.  He creates systems, processes and structures so that duplication becomes a culture and set as the DNA of the organization.

A Leader-Manager administers well while at the same time is an entrepreneur. He redirects resources from areas of low or diminishing results to areas of high or increasing returns. He moves resources from non-producing to more producing ones. He is efficient and effective. He does things right. He also do the right things. As an entrepreneur a Leader-Manager develops a business from the ground up by creating ideas and turning it into a profitable business of tomorrow. It requires systematic analysis and hard work today.

One of the most important aspect of a Leader-Manager is the ability to manage two time dimensions. He must balance the short term and long term. The Leader-Manager must always consider both the present and future – the short run and the long run. He cannot squeeze the organization and its people for immediate profit, losing sight of the long range health and the survival of the company while at the same time cannot live in a dream of a lofty tomorrow but fail to cross the immediate finishing line. This will terminate the life of the organization prematurely. The work of harmonizing the long range impact and the short run economic decisions covers all areas – innovation, marketing, duplication and general management. He ensures the business organization performs both in the present and in the future. He must be able to run the business of today while at the same time prepare changes for tomorrow. A Leader-Manager must always do both.

Last but not least, he manages the social impacts and social responsibilities of the organization. He acts as the organization’s brand custodian and ensures the image and position of the company are taken care at all times.

Anas Zubedy.

Kuala Lumpur.

Ref : Peter Drucker’s management ideas :)

Depression: I thank God when I can - The STAR

In conjunction with World Mental Health Day 2015, the Malaysian Mental Health Association organised an essay-writing competition for those with mental health illness and their caregivers.

The main aims of this competition were to educate and create better awareness of mental illness, promote early detection and treatment, and better acceptance of mental illness, as well as destigmatise such conditions.

Fit for life will be publishing the top three entries over the next few weeks.

This week, we present the essay by Air Jernih, which came in second.

You can find the 3rd place winner’s story here.

I thank God when I can, because there was a time that I could not

Most people take for granted the ability to wake up, eat, bathe, walk, talk… But there was a time in my life when a toothbrush was too heavy to lift, when getting out of bed seemed almost impossible, when opening a gate felt like opening a one-tonne iron door, and stepping out of the house seemed as difficult as climbing Mount Everest.

• was 22 when depression struck. From being an outspoken person, I became withdrawn.

From being a leader, I wanted to become nothing. At one point, I really felt like nothing. That was when I really could do nothing.

Back then, I was a medical student in my third year of university. My father had just passed away, and so had a friend.

I suddenly felt that I did not know how to take care of myself, what more others.

So I withdrew and locked myself in my room. I knew that help was available, but I refused to see a psychiatrist.

I can handle this by myself, I thought.

For a short period of time, I did, until it all became unmanageable. It took me a year and a half before I sought professional help.

Even then, I refused medication. Why? Because I did not want to accept that I had depression.

Whether we realise or not, depression remains a stigma in society. Visiting a psychiatrist would mean either one of two things: either you are “weak” or you have gone crazy.

I obviously did not want to be associated with either. It is alright to see a doctor for headaches, tummy pains and other bodily discomforts, but not for a mental breakdown.

Antihypertensives are drugs which are well accepted, but when it comes to antidepressants, it’s a different story altogether.

Some view people with depression as weak or lazy, or just seeking attention. They feel that such symptoms can be controlled by the power of the will alone, but depression in fact is more than that.

Depression is a state of longstanding low mood and energy levels that you try to get out of, but you simply cannot.

lt sinks so deeply into you, binds you, and drains you of every ounce of strength that you have, until you are left with nothing.

In the study of psychiatry, the cause of any mental illness is divided into three aspects: biological, psychological and social.

“Biological” represents the genetic predisposition, which is means that if either of your parents have depression, there is a higher likelihood of you getting depression.

This is due to the chemical imbalances in the brain which predisposes to the illness.

Next, the “psychological” aspect is related to how a person thinks, i.e. how one works through difficult situations and stressors.

Lastly, the “social” aspect speaks of the environment a person is in – whether there are supportive family members and friends, or whether the workplace is conducive.

Working through all these three aspects is important in helping one understand and overcoming depression.

In my final year of university, I accepted the “help” of antidepressants. By then, despite multiple counselling sessions and tireless attempts to recondition my mind more positively, I reached a stage where even picking up a book became a challenge.

I knew then that I could not put off medication any longer.

Within a month of starting medication, my mood bounced back to a level that I had never known before. For once, I felt like the sky was blue and that I could breathe.

I graduated with a medical degree.

You have heard the phrase, “doctors are the worst patients”. Well, upon graduating, I decided to stop taking medications against medical advice. Lo and behold, two months into housemanship, I suffered a relapse.

I woke up every single morning with palpitations. I could not concentrate at work. I found living arduous.

And finally, even walking became laborious.

I was forced to go on medical leave. For three whole weeks, I lay on the couch, hardly speaking a word. Questions kept running through my mind. “Will I ever work again? Why is this happening to me? Why am I here? What is my purpose in life?”

At that moment, I lost all sense of identity and purpose. Living meant nothing to me.

It took three weeks for the effect of the medication to kick in, and it was seven weeks before I started working again. It took courage to step back into work, knowing that the whole department had been talking about me.

However, my superiors and colleagues were considerate and did not give me a hard time, and I managed to blend into the crowd as a caregiver.

Thinking back, acceptance was the most difficult part of my journey of depression – firstly, self-acceptance, and then, the acceptance of others.

When you do not acknowledge that there is a problem, how then can you find solutions?

Perhaps, if I had started on medication earlier or had been compliant to my medication, my relapse could have been avoided.

Receptive friends and family helped me recover better.

It is especially important for one who has gone through depression to feel accepted despite being different.

Thanks to antidepressants and supportive family and friends, today, l am a full fledged doctor in a district hospital. l am 28 and am still on antidepressants.

You may ask, how can a person who has depression become a doctor?

My answer is, why not? I do not deny that I have low mood and energy levels at times, but knowing my limits and the amount of stress I can take before I break down helps me pace myself and take necessary rest when needed.

With medication, I can keep up with the demands of my daily work.

I do not compromise my responsibilities or patient care.

Just as one with diabetes can carry out regular activities when on treatment, so can one with depression.

Article taken from The Star.

The 2016 Budget and Combating Corruption by Dr Chandra Muzaffar

While there are some positive features in the 2016 Federal Budget, there is a glaring omission in it: there is hardly any mention of how the government intends to step up its battle against corruption or how it plans to reduce persistent leakages or enhance integrity in governance. And yet, integrity at all levels of society --- especially at the apex --- is the greatest challenge facing the nation today.

The Budget could have addressed this challenge from various perspectives. It could have proposed specific, concrete measures that government departments and state agencies would undertake in order to overcome problems arising from ministerial and departmental over-spending, above market-price purchases and delays in approvals --- all of which have often been highlighted by the Auditor-General in his comprehensive audit reports. The millions of ringgit lost year in and year out from acts of omission and commission of this sort could have been better utilized for the well-being of the people.

The lack of effective enforcement by state institutions has also cost us dearly. Instead of dealing with the culprits through punitive measures that serve as effective deterrents, the tendency is to choose a mild mode of punishment which has very little impact upon the wrongdoer. As a result, wrongdoings have become more and more serious over the decades. The human trafficking tragedy at the Malaysia-Thai border exposed earlier this year that resulted in the deaths of scores of Rohingyas is an example of what can happen when enforcement officers fail to carry out their duties mainly because they had compromised their integrity.

If such erring officers are not caught or punished severely, part of the reason may be because there is no institution that has the powers to conduct truly independent investigations into the misdeeds of enforcement personnel and enforcement agencies. There is an urgent need for such an independent institution which will have the full authority to act against enforcers whether they are from the police or immigration or some other agency. The present Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) does have the power to act effectively. This is why the Budget could have provided for the establishment of such an entity staffed with well trained personnel capable of adhering to the highest standards of integrity.

The Budget could have also perhaps allocated more resources for the enhancement of knowledge and skills among anti-corruption officials at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) which by and large has discharged its duties with distinction. Such upgrading is imperative in an environment in which acts of corruption have become more sophisticated and
transcend national boundaries. The 1MDB episode is a case in point. Money-laundering today for instance has become far more complex than what it was two or three decades ago.

To put it in a nutshell, the 2016 Budget does not indicate that the powers-that-be are serious or sincere about combating high-level corruption and strengthening the sinews of integrity in Malaysian society. It is perhaps a manifestation of the major cause of the spread of the scourge of corruption: the lack of political will among those who wield power and influence.